EADS kicked off the New Year with a group rebranding that also affected the Eurocopter name. EADS, now to be known as the Airbus Group, will feature divisions called Airbus, Airbus Defence and Space, and Airbus Helicopters. Airbus will focus on the commercial aircraft business and Airbus Defence and Space will integrate its Cassidian, Astrium and Airbus Military businesses, while Airbus Helicopters is a direct name change from Eurocopter.

The decision to rebrand was announced in July 2013 and received mixed reaction from the rotorcraft industry. Eurocopter was widely considered as a global brand with no adverse connotations as a result of the reference to Europe.

The rebranding was perhaps more relevant to the defense side of the Airbus Group’s business. The legal name will also be changed by 2015 from Airbus Group NV to Airbus Group SE (Societas Europaea). The helicopter maker’s website has changed over to the new Airbus Helicopters brand, while visitors to the EADS website are directed to the new Airbus Group website. On January 8, the company announced that “the naming and designations of Airbus Helicopters products remain at present unchanged in the new branding.”

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